Montreal Canadiens, Corey Perry, Habs, NHL, Stanley Cup

On December 28th, the Montreal Canadiens signed Corey Perry to a one-year, $750,000 deal. The 35-year old played forward for the Dallas Stars last season. He finished with five goals and 16 assists in 57 regular-season games. Then, he added five goals and four assists in the playoffs, playing a key role for the team as they qualified for the Stanley Cup Final.

Perry was brought in to help vault the Canadiens into the upper tier of teams. The franchise is hopeful that his veteran presence can help the team get past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2015.

Player Background

Perry has a history of helping teams defy the NHL odds. In 1,045 games played in the league, he has scored 377 goals, 420 assists, which totals out to 797 points. In 2007, he helped the Anaheim Ducks win a Stanley Cup as a 21-year old. In 2010 and 2014, Perry won a pair of gold medals, while in 2016 he was a member of the team that won the World Cup of Hockey.

What stands out about Perry is that he is a pure agitator on the ice. He finds a way to get under the skin of his opponents, especially during his glory days. From 2007-2012, he finished with over 100 penalty minutes each season.

What to Expect in 2021

Does Perry negatively impact the team with his penalty troubles? Last year, he was 20th among all NHL players with 70 PIMs. Of the infractions, 20 were minor, two were major, and one was misconduct. Most memorably Perry was ejected for elbowing Ryan Ellis 39 seconds into the 2020 Winter Classic. The misconduct was so rough that Perry was a meme for the second half of the season.

To be fair, the Canadiens knew what they were getting when they signed Perry. They had to know they were dealing with someone that was going to get in trouble once in a while. In 15 years, his game hasn’t changed.

Fixing the Cap Situation

With the signing of Perry, it puts the Canadiens over the cap. Much of the cap hit of Jordan Weal will be saved as he cleared waivers and will be sent to Laval but other measures will be required for the team to be compliant. Perry himself, along with newly-acquired Michael Frolik was placed on waivers on Monday. If they clear waivers on Tuesday, the pair of veterans will likely be assigned to the Canadiens taxi squad.

The acquisition of Perry was a low-risk, high reward move for the team. As a veteran that was nearing the season without a job, Perry chose to take a low offer to squeeze onto a team. The pressure is on for him to perform well if he wants to keep his NHL career going. For the Habs, this will hopefully mean his play will transpire to future postseason success in the long run.